Cautious hopes for the rest of Syria in the city where HTS showed how it could govern

In Idlib, where the group that last month seized power across the country has held sway since 2017, residents say their lives were better than those who suffered under Assad

Residents of Idlib in north-west Syria still talk of the time when Bashar Al Assad's father, Hafez, visited the city soon after seizing power in the 1970s.

Instead of receiving a hero's welcome, he was pelted with shoes and vegetables. Locals claim it was these events that led to the marginalisation of Idlib long before the province became the final redoubt for rebels seeking to end more than 50 years of brutal Assad rule.

It was from here that a broad coalition of opposition fighters launched an offensive that ended less than two weeks later with the toppling of Bashar Al Assad on December 8. "It was fate," Dr Ghiath Sheikh Ibrahim, a professor at Idlib University, told The National with a wry smile.

"We were really afraid we might fail. Because failure would mean we would be killed, a massive massacre in Idlib. Either complete victory or complete failure."

The rebel offensive on Damascus was led by the dominant rebel faction in Idlib, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), which is now steering the transition from Assad’s rule. Amid concerns about the group's former association with Al Qaeda, both among Syrians and the international community, HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara has promised to create an inclusive Syria for all its ethnic and religious groups. However, many Syrians are still anxious.

The Syrian Salvation Government that HTS set up in 2017 to administer Idlib now forms the basis of the country's interim government. Its supporters insist it set up a fully-functioning administration free from corruption.

HTS has also sought to rebrand from its extremist origins and has revoked strict rules. But while there is relief over the fall of the Assad regime, the country's rulers have still been met with apprehension by many – unsure of what their path forward will be.

Idlib experiment

Idlib Governorate has come under repeated bombardment since it was captured by rebels in 2015, leaving many towns flattened, although a ceasefire in a 2020 agreement between the rebels' largest backer, Turkey, and Mr Al Assad's biggest military supporter, Russia, somewhat stemmed the tide. Its population surged by millions as people fled there, fleeing an onslaught of pro-Assad forces in other parts of the country.

Despite this, local authorities and residents alike argue that such developments show Idlib was functioning better than any areas held by the previous regime – even if in the displaced camps that dot Idlib countryside, job opportunities are hard to come by.

"Some media say Idlib is full of Niqabi women and extreme people, but it's not true," said Nada, the head of an educational institute in Idlib. She highlighted the fact that the majority of her staff were women and rejected claims she said came from the media that Idlib is a hotbed of extremism.

"The policy of extremism does not work in Idlib. All Syrians accept each other's differences. As long as you accept there are women with a niqab, also you accept there are women without a hijab. Syria cannot be ruled by one side or one religion."

The Saleh restaurant in Idlib city, capital of the only province held by Syria's former rebels before they overthrew the Assad government last month. Jamie Prentis / The National

She sought to contrast the situation between Idlib and Damascus. "When Ahmad Al Shara controlled Idlib, there weren't people carrying his pictures on the streets like you see in Damascus with Bashar Al Assad," she said. Many in Idlib whom The National spoke to were keen to highlight what they saw as an absence of corruption in comparison to areas the Assad government controlled.

However, despite recently backtracking on austere policies it had initially introduced – for instance on dress and behavioural codes – and distancing itself from its extremist origins, HTS has faced criticism for its rule in Idlib.

Experts and rights groups said the group cracked down on rival factions as well as protesters and arrested figures associated with them throughout its rule. HTS itself has faced protests accusing it of being authoritarian.

Protests have included slogans against the group's leaders and economic policies – at times being met with violence. In May, Idlib was hit by demonstrations after the death of a prisoner in jail, allegedly by torture – although HTS officials reject this. Other protests were sparked by complaints about HTS rule, condemning alleged abuses by security forces.

"I protested against [HTS], whoever was in charge, because we wanted the fall of the regime," said an Idlib resident who asked to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. "And for years there had been a ceasefire and we weren't able to return to our villages. But now it's fine because we got what we want."

When the rebel coalition seized Syria last month, its leaders sought to calm fears that minorities could be under threat. Many locals resent what they see as disparaging remarks about Idlib and any connection to extremism. When a Christmas tree was set on fire last month in the central Syrian town of Suqaylabiyah, protests took place – although HTS quickly dispatched envoys to calm Christian fears.

Despite this, unease and mistrust still abounds in Syria over their new rulers and the changes they will seek to implement. But potential revisions to the national curriculum by the interim education ministry, seen by opponents as taking on a more fundamentalist tone, only stoked fears of a new form of oppression.

Even though most of the Syrian Salvation Government leaders are now in Damascus, its ministries in Idlib city continue functioning. On Thursday, a month after the rebels launched their lightning offensive, the city bustled and hummed under the winter sun. People lounged under a clock tower in the city centre as a hawker sold the red, white and green national flag of the Syrian opposition that is now ubiquitous across country.

"All is good, and better than the newly liberated cities. Even before [the fall of the regime] it was better – except for the fighter jets," said Alaa, selling warm milk and sweet breakfast treats in front of the clock tower as the city awoke.

Originally from Idlib, he moved back here from Aleppo eight years ago. "I went to Aleppo – here is better. Here there is water, electricity, services, everything," he said. "The regime was stealing everything; here the government is taking care of the city."

The clock tower in Idlib, Syria. Jamie Prentis / The National

Idlib started using the Turkish lira in 2020, replacing the rapidly depreciating Syrian pound carrying Bashar Al Assad's face. Internet connections are relatively fast and widely accessible, and websites still blocked in areas formerly controlled by the previous government are freely available – evidence of the Turkish internet providers. The steady supply of electricity, is in contrast to frequent blackouts in other areas – and also made possible with the help of Turkey.

"Idlib succeeded in its experience thanks to God first and then to the co-operation and solidarity between the authorities on the one hand, and the community on the other,“ Maher Mohammad Hilal, the Idlib Governorate police chief, told The National.

"We advise police leaders in the newly liberated areas to benefit from our previous experiences," added the 43-year-old.

People wave pre-Assad era Syrian flags on a street in Idlib to celebrate the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad. AFP

Teachers point to a resurgence of the education sector in the region under the SSG. Idlib University, at least in its current incarnation, was opened in 2015 and was one of a handful of higher education institutions in rebel-held areas.

"The university is built on doctors, we had many who split from the regime and came to the stronghold of the revolution," said Dr Ibrahim, who said academics had been dispatched to universities across the country to assess the situation.

"Many of them told us that the situation in the regime's universities is not good – corruption. We hope this situation in Idlib can be transferred to the other universities in Syria," he said.

"Idlib was the most successful simply because we didn't have corruption, we didn't have a state of the intelligence [services.] All the people were equal in front of the law. This was enough for us to build a successful example. Of course we hope this example and experience might be transferred to the other areas."

The country's new rulers face a challenging task ahead as they seek to rebuild.

"Let's be optimistic about the future. We have been able to defeat them militarily. The future … of course now this is much more difficult than the previous one. The coming stage is much more difficult," said Dr Ibrahim.

"I think the Syrian societal construction is a little bit fragile, there's a crisis of mistrust. But this is what they are working on in Damascus, to build trust among the Syrian people. It's a big task, by the way."